New Reviews: Biography & Memoir

Journalist E.A. Hanks conversationally narrates an account of her solo road trip along Interstate 10, retracing the route she drove with her mother from California to Florida as a child in 1996. As she immerses herself in conversations with residents and explorations of towns like Tombstone, Arizona, and Palatka, Florida, Hanks grapples with questions about the formative... Read More

If social media numbers and my math are correct, Jen Hatmaker has 1,518,500 combined followers on Facebook, Instagram, and X--and they will love this book. Those who have watched her videos or listened to her podcasts will immediately recognize her distinctive speaking style in this memoir recounting her journey from the trauma of divorce and evangelicalism to the healing and... Read More

Aymann Ismail, a SLATE journalist and podcaster, narrates his memoir, giving it the genuineness he intended when he wrote it. Growing up the youngest son of immigrants, Ismail struggled with his identity as a Muslim and an Egyptian American. He narrates with the kind of self-questioning that adds credibility to his journey to form an honest relationship with his religion and... Read More

This translated French memoir by Jean Boucault and Johnny Rasse recounts their youth and mutual passion for birdsong. The boys' backgrounds are differentiated by the accents of narrators Jean-Marc Berne and Jean Brassard. Berne gives Johnny a rural working-class dialect represented by heavily accented English, while Brassard represents Jean's wealthier upbringing with... Read More

In this engaging memoir, author Joe Dunthorne narrates his own investigation into the dubious moral legacy of his grandfather, a chemist whose career evolved from creating mundane consumer products to developing chemical weapons for Nazi Germany. Dunthorne's skill as a novelist and storyteller comes through in both his prose and his narration. His tone is energetic and well... Read More

Anelise Chen narrates her memoir quietly--as if depicting the timidity that led to her reclusiveness after her divorce. She dubs herself "Clam," a name suggested by her mother's oft-sent misspelled texts to "clam down" when she was in a high emotional state. These texts launch Chen's discoveries of truths about herself. Led by serendipity, reading, introspection, and insights,... Read More

The author of this audiobook, Shawn Levy, treads carefully between other authors' efforts--some too fawning, others too critical--in this exhaustively researched, articulate, and absorbing biography of screen legend Clint Eastwood. Mike Chamberlain brings a well-suited tone to his narration. His performance provides crisp diction, enthusiasm, and optimism. Nearly every... Read More

For a comedy audiobook, the words "over-the-top" should be welcome. Alas, Larry Charles's narration of his memoir about 40 years in show business is just too much. His delivery pushes so hard that he ends up sounding like an amateur actor trying to impress. A winner of many prestigious awards, the writer and director of such successful shows as "Seinfeld," "Curb Your... Read More

Because he's extremely short, Robert Reich has been bullied his entire life. But standing up to bullies--socially and politically--has been his hallmark and is a major theme of this memoir. His most important message is a plea for Americans to stand up to the man he considers the bully-in-chief: President Trump. Reich narrates his audiobook, so the emotions he expresses are... Read More

Jason Culp delivers a top-notch narration of this entertaining biography of writer Elmore Leonard. Culp's relaxed pacing and acting chops come in handy when he delivers excerpts from Leonard's work and when he quotes the myriad sources for the bio. There's a wealth of information on Leonard's private life, including significant events like his battle with alcohol, as well as... Read More

Artist Robert Crumb did the impossible--he turned the medium of comic books into something both inspiring and repellent while securing a place in comic history. Rob Shapiro's understated delivery of this authorized biography is as captivating as Crumb's bizarre life. Listening to it will make people seek out not only Crumb's work in Zap Comix, Fritz The Cat, and others, but... Read More

Comedian Tamara Yajia narrates her debut memoir with dynamic energy. Her stories of her childhood in Argentina feature her hilarious yet often inappropriate Jewish family. After they move to the U.S., her grandfather's declining health brings them back to Argentina. Inspired by Madonna, Yajia almost becomes a child star, but an economic crisis forces another move to America,... Read More

Like a singer-songwriter performing her own work on stage, Niko Stratis really HAD to be the narrator of her own memoir. In a gentle voice tinged with strength, humor, and vulnerability, she shares stories as a kind of "soundtrack of my life," weaving commentary on popular music with her experiences as a trans woman. Reflecting on the lyrics of bands such as R.E.M., Pearl Jam,... Read More

Tanya Eby's bright voice and precise delivery help illuminate the story of Frances Perkins's humanitarian work during World War II. Perkins was a woman of firsts. The first female to serve in a presidential cabinet (Franklin Roosevelt's), she became the country's longest serving labor secretary and an architect of the New Deal. As historian Rebecca Brenner Graham discovered... Read More

Journalist Todd S. Purdum narrates his absorbing, well-researched, and beautifully delivered examination of actor, producer, and musician Desi Arnaz--also known as comedienne Lucille Ball's husband in the sitcom "I Love Lucy" (1951-1957) and in real life. This enjoyable performance is pure perfection--well enunciated, paced for understanding, and delivered in an entertainingly... Read More

Jacinda Ardern believes empathy and kindness should be central to politics. Her warm voice and Kiwi accent embody authenticity, earnestness, and self-effacing humor. At a young age and newly pregnant, Ardern unexpectedly became New Zealand's prime minister, heading a coalition government from 2017 to 2023. She was the face of the government's response to a terrorist attack at... Read More

Almost 30 years after his first visit to Trastevere, author and narrator Mark Radcliffe returns, this time with his wife, Bella, and their Cavapoo, Arlo. Five-year-old Arlo provides a delightful twist to this story with his cheerful dog's-eye perspective of their three-month Roman holiday. Radcliffe's English accent and breezy delivery are charming--but it's his portrayal of... Read More

Ashraf Shirazi's narration brings quiet strength and emotional resonance to the author's contemplations of imprisonment in Iran--her own and that of other feminist figures, including Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Narges Mohammadi. This unique audiobook focuses on a group of women who bake sweets as expressions of solidarity with those who are imprisoned. Shirazi's delivery... Read More

At the age of 38, Jonathan Gluck fell and injured his hip, and it didn't heal. In his audiobook, Gluck narrates his own story of coming to find out he had multiple myeloma, which upended his young family's life. He and his wife, both magazine journalists, were living an idyllic life in New York City with their 7-month-old daughter when Gluck was given between 18 months and 3... Read More

"Forensic ornithologist" are two words few people would put together. But they're the focus of this audiobook about a Smithsonian specialist whose vast knowledge of feathers led to solving mysteries surrounding aircraft accidents, murders, and other incidents. Sierra Prasada offers an able narration of this biography of pioneering researcher Roxie Laybourne. Prasada enlivens... Read More

This biography of one of America's best distance runners, Steve Prefontaine, captures his spirit, accomplishments, and maverick personality wonderfully. Narrator Roger Wayne sets the pace, so to speak, in a comfortable style. He creates a commanding, almost upper-crust, voice for pioneering coach Bill Bowerman; his accents and cadence seem to fit the legendary running coach's... Read More

Edoardo Ballerini's excellent storytelling turns this biography into a fascinating listen. Born in New Jersey to working-class parents, James Gandolfini focused on acting after moving to New York City. Before becoming Tony Soprano, he was a hardworking stage actor, who earned the respect and friendship of actors, directors, and critics. Ballerini details a bighearted, generous,... Read More

Narrator Mike Zuzel captures these stories about Olympic athletes-- some well known, others not--who went above and beyond in heroic or sacrificial gestures in their careers. Zuzel's deep voice is consistent and calming. He narrates clearly with restrained enthusiasm. The stories that emerge are interesting and include accounts of track athlete Peter Norman and his famed 1968... Read More

In this poignant, fragmented memoir, poet and novelist Hala Alyan reflects on her journey to motherhood through surrogacy. She narrates with an emotional intensity that matches the intimacy of the prose, her voice sometimes scratchy with grief, sometimes full of love. The memoir unfolds in a series of nonlinear moments and memories--of her marriage, her college years in Beirut,... Read More

Anyone who believes the American entrance into WWII was easy and inevitable will be shocked to hear that the path was difficult and paved with spies, lies, and coercion. Stephen Graybill performs this audiobook with the skill of a newscaster who's recounting revelation upon revelation about the spies on both sides of the war (and the Atlantic) who were using their skills to... Read More

Rima Ahmed, a BBC Radio presenter, delivers a warm and resonant performance of this rich collection of stories about food and family. Ahmed's regional English accent adds curiosity and vitality to Shahnaz Ahsan's memoir, which spans her diverse family history and travels across Asia, Europe, and Africa. Ahmed infuses a balance of quiet awe and trepidation into the author's... Read More

Jilly Bond paints a charming portrait of Eugénie de Montijo, the last empress of France. The Spanish-born aristocrat married to Emperor Napoleon III was a woman ahead of her time. The Napoleonic Code defined women as little more than chattel. They were uneducated, taught only to be good wives and unable to do or think for themselves. Bond's narration portrays a fierce advocate... Read More

Narrator Dion Graham and biographer Eig set the record straight on the triumphant and ultimately tragic life story of Lou Gehrig, one of the best first basemen and consistent hitters in baseball history. But the "Iron Horse," as sportswriters dubbed him because of his consecutive game streak, had his career cut short when he was diagnosed with ALS in 1939 and forced into... Read More

Author/narrator Stephen Grant goes from a lucrative marketing job to being unemployed with cancer during Covid. Listeners join him as he moves back to Virginia and begins working as a rural mail carrier. He describes his joy at landing a job with health insurance, his in-depth training, the complexities of mail sorting, and various unique co-workers. Once he begins delivering... Read More

Marisa Calin narrates this fraught tale of shipwreck, marriage, and survival. Maurice and Marilyn quit their jobs and embark on sailing the ocean without an engine or radio. They see it as the experience of a lifetime. When a whale sinks their boat and leaves them adrift on a raft in the Pacific, the two struggle for four months to stay alive and maintain their sanity. Calin... Read More

Who writer Joan Didion was has never been clearer than in her attempt to trace the emotional cosmos of her deeply troubled adopted daughter, Quintana. Built from a set of notes left on her desk, this posthumous work lends itself particularly well to narrator Julianne Moore's delicate twang. Whereas much of Didion's oeuvre is identifiable for its razor-sharp economy of language,... Read More

Tamsin Kennard tackles this mammoth narration with confidence and clarity. Goldstone has written an enjoyable and accessible account of two women whose beauty and wit propelled them into positions of great power. But in neither case did power bring the happiness both Elisabeth of Austria and Eugénie of France desired. Kennard's friendly and relaxed tone makes this a far easier... Read More

The tumultuous life of Juliane of Saxe-Coburg is given a solid narration by Jennifer M. Dixon. Julie, who was an aunt of both Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, became Grand Duchess Anna Fedorova of Russia when she married Grand Duke Constantine, brother of the future Tsar Alexander I. It was not a happy union, and she eventually abandoned him and fled back to Western Europe.... Read More

Author Bridget Crocker recounts her life as a young woman before coming into her own, thanks to her appreciation for the natural world. One Easter morning Crocker's mother abandoned her family, leaving Bridget to fend for herself. Few people stepped in to help. Through a series of traumatic trials and tribulations--including sexual assaults-- Crocker found herself confronting... Read More

Listening to Tembi Locke's melodic voice share her experiences during a Sicilian summer vacation with her daughter, Zoela, and second husband, Robert, is a delight for any audiophile. Published years after FROM SCRATCH--her gut-wrenching memoir of her first husband's death from cancer--this account continues her story as she reconnects with her late husband's family and they... Read More

This poignant audio memoir recounts the tragedy of the past three generations of the New Jersey Seabrooks, WASP agriculture kings brought low by family feuds, self-dealing, and racism. Golden Voice Dion Graham gives a bravura performance of the fraught relationships between three generations of fathers and sons: CF, who was dubbed the "Henry Ford of Agriculture"; his son,... Read More

Narrator Derek Perkins is the gold standard for audiobooks devoted to artists and the fine arts, and also, it seems, for stunts and high jinks. Clearly, he revels in this biography of "the mother of surrealism," Gala Dali, wife of Salvadore Dali and a creative force in her own right. Her first husband, French poet Paul luard, described her as "an extraordinary, versatile, and... Read More

Joshua Quinn's performance embodies the spirit of a true educator: John B. King, Jr.--who was Secretary of Education during the Obama administration. Quinn's voice projects a deep intellect and curiosity. King began as a classroom teacher; then he became an administrator. His focus on student success is at the heart of his commitment to education as an art. Given the current... Read More

Roshaan Riyahi-Boni narrates this look at the lives of working-class lesbians in North London in the 1990s, a look that serves as a springboard for a memoir and a discussion of queer theory. The audiobook is filled with entries in the Women's Line Logbook, a lesbian helpline. The entries cover a period of five years, beginning in July 1993. Riyahi-Boni's renderings reveal the... Read More

Craig Mod moved to Japan at age 19. Now a photographer and essayist in his 40s, he's still there and is an avid walker. Narrating his own work, he recounts his pilgrimage on the Kumano Kodo trail on the Kii Peninsula. At a slow pace, Mod interweaves the daily details of his walk with the history of the pilgrimage; U.S. and Japanese relations; the concept of "yoyu"; thoughts on... Read More

It's difficult to imagine an audiobook with a more bleak premise. Between 2017 and 2024, author and Princeton professor Yiyun Li lost both of her sons to suicide, at the ages of just 16 and 19. This work explores her grief, her struggles to understand why her sons chose to end their lives, and her progress towards acceptance. Suzanne Toren's voice is gentle and restrained, and... Read More

This deeply researched biography of the iconic American author Toni Morrison explores the significance of her editorial role at Random House Publishing, where she shepherded the careers of many Black writers. It's a lesser known part of Morrison's remarkable career, but it influenced American literature from the 1970s onward. Howard University Dean of Graduate Studies and... Read More

When a nonfiction audiobook is described as "monumental," it can be challenging for listeners. But Courtney B. Vance makes this biography of pioneering Black sociologist W.E.B. Du Bois highly accessible. The work is still long and detailed, but Vance's pace and tone keep it from seeming tedious. He varies his voice to suit the material, especially in denoting irony or when... Read More

This series of essays by Tess Sanchez, actor Max Greenfield's wife, is intended to be humorous, but her nasal-tinged, if well-enunciated, narration doesn't mask the privileged tone of its not very relatable personal stories. Greenfield, who wrote and narrates the foreword, offers a more professional audio performance. Sanchez's writing about her life as a casting director who... Read More

When Kelly Ramsey moved to Northern California to fight wildfires, she was weighed down by more than just her gear. In her late 30s, she was a decade older than most of her crew--and the only woman to boot. But the toughness, humor, and youthful energy that sustained her comes through in her narration of her memoir. With an easygoing, personable tone, Ramsey takes listeners... Read More

In 1600s Paris, with Louis XIV on the throne, a group of women gathered to have discussions in opposition to the patriarchy and other forces limiting women's opportunities. Narrator Hope Newhouse's feminine voicing is a suitable complement to the stories of these "conteuses," or storytellers, who crafted fairy tales out of their experiences. Newhouse's delicate voicings,... Read More

Saskia Maarleveld skillfully narrates this well-researched historical account. Italy surrendered to the Allies in 1943, and Nazi Germany quickly invaded. Many brave Italian women, hiding in plain sight, secretly delivered messages, weapons, and food to Resistance fighters. The biography focuses on four brave Italian women whose subversive activities included hiding bombs in... Read More

To understand the life of the Zbigniew Brzezinski, one must understand the history of Poland--and not just 20th-century Poland. This idea is a major thesis of this extensive and authoritative biography of the Carter Administration's national security advisor, whose worldview and approach to communism ultimately led to the downfall of the Soviet Union. Michael David Axtell... Read More